Senate to vote Tuesday on Pain Capable Unborn Child Protection Act

WASHINGTON, D.C., September 21, 2015 (LifeSiteNews) - The U.S. Senate will hold a vote on the Pain Capable Unborn Child Protection Act tomorrow.

Although the bill is not expected to overcome Democratic opposition, and would certainly not overcome President Obama's threatened veto, pro-life groups are asking constituents to contact the Senate in hopes of showing the greatest amount of support possible for the act.

The bill, which would restrict abortion to the first 20 weeks of pregnancy, is designed to protect the health of unborn babies and their mothers, the bill's supporters say.

"The Pain-Capable Unborn Children Protection Act not only protects babies who are five months in the womb and can feel excruciating pain, but it also protects women who are at an increasingly greater risk of experiencing the harmful effects of late-term abortion," said Penny Nance, the president of the Concerned Women for America Legislative Action Committee.

"It has been proven babies in the womb develop their nervous system early in the pregnancy and, as a result, feel pain," she said. "Knowingly inflicting such a pain on a child is sick, disturbing, and heartless. As a mother, my heart agonizes at the thought of babies being treated so barbarically."

The ban has taken on new importance of light of a series of undercover investigative videos showing Planned Parenthood officials discussing the sale of aborted fetal organs for scientific experimentation. In that industry, later term unborn babies fetch a higher price, with more usable parts available for extraction.

"Planned Parenthood’s abdominal organ trade – exposed by the Center for Medical Progress – has fueled efforts to protect these children, who are worth more to Planned Parenthood later in pregnancy," Majorie Dannenfelser, president of the Susan B. Anthony List, said this afternoon.

However, a consistent stream of national polls showed that a hearty majority of Americans supported the bill even before the videos came to light, with young people and women supporting the act at an even higher level than the general population.

Sources on Capitol Hill tell LifeSiteNews that West Virginia Democrat Joe Manchin is expected to vote for the bill, giving it bipartisan support.

Other pro-life Democrats may join most of the chamber's Republicans tomorrow, too - particularly Joe Donnelly of Indiana and Bob Casey of Pennsylvania.

However, Indiana Right to Life is asking for voters to contact Donnelly - and pro-life leaders are asking citizens to make their views known, whomever their senator may be.

Nance says the bill deserves to enjoy wide support on both sides of the aisle.

"It does not matter on which side of the political spectrum you fall, whether you are pro-abortion or pro-life," she said. "Such inhumane practices such as abortion after 20 weeks, should be stopped immediately. America is better than this."